[Kzyxtalk] NPR's All Things Considered

[doug mckenty]

Tim,

I thought the total programming fee of 32k included the 22k for individual
programs plus membership fees like 8k for the NPR membership.  So the total
payout for programming was the 32k number.  Perhaps you are right and they
should be added for a total of 55k.

I stopped believing NPR programming after observing their coverage of the
run up to the war in Iraq.  It has become my feeling that they are just
another corporate news source heavily influenced by the
corporate/government complex.  I know many believe it to be an alternative,
but I feel they are one and the same.  Their foreign policy is very one
sided, from the point of view of the American military establishment, with
little to no time for alternative perspectives.  The vast majority of their
"experts" come from establishment think tanks such as Rand, Brookings, and
the CFR, all of wich are funded by corporate or foundation money.  NPR is
heavily influenced by the left/right paradigm which it then reduces to the
two party system they present as functional, with little corruption
influencing the game.  Alternative, independant, and third party factions
are almost totally ignored.

NPR does very little investigative journalism of its own, and after years
of paying close attention to alternative news sources, I have found that if
an anti-government or anti-corporate meme starts to gain traction, NPR is
always there to present a very softball view of what are sometimes serious
civil/individual rights abuses.

I am also skeptical of its attitude that it is completely objective.  By
giving equal credence to two points of view I often find that NPR's
coverage manages to give a measure of authenticity to ideas that, on their
own, would be completely ludicrous.

The fluff pieces often stuck between NPR's coverage of real news reminds me
of the soma pills taken in A Brave New World.  After an hour of NPR we are
all meant to feel pacified.  There is nothing to worry about.  The USA is
the greatest country in the world.  Its military spreads peace and
democracy and its people enjoy freedom and abundance.  There is nothing to
see here, move along.

I just don't trust it.

Having said that, I have never advocated ditching it at KZYX.  I know a lot
of people do trust it, and a lot of them are paying members.  I would just
like to see less of it and more Independant and locally produced journalism
and I would like to be able to have this conversation on the air instead of
on this list serve.  I think discussion critical or complimentary of all
news sources should be part of the function of community radio.

Doug M.



On Tuesday, February 18, 2014, <nsi at mcn.org> wrote:

> Thank you, Rick. --beth
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From:
> "Mitch Clogg" <mitchc at mcn.org<javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','mitchc at mcn.org');>
> >
>
> To:
> <kzyxtalk at lists.mcn.org<javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','kzyxtalk at lists.mcn.org');>
> >
> Cc:
>
> Sent:
> Tue, 18 Feb 2014 20:38:24 -0800
> Subject:
> Re: [Kzyxtalk] NPR's All Things Considered
>
>
> Why are people so reluctant to cop to liking stuff on public radio? NPR,
> Public Radio International, Canada radio and a slew of others put superb
> stuff in the air. My main station is JPR. It's out of Ashland and beams
> here on AM 1300. The signal gets dirty at sundown. I have to drag myself
> away, every day.
>
> Mitch Clogg
> Mendocino
>
>
>
>
> On 2/18/2014 8:10 PM, Rick wrote:
>
>  And now for something completely different:
>
> The subject of NPR's "All Things Considered" (ATC) on KZYX is an old, old
> worn discussion around here in Ruralland, but I would like to bring it up
> for discussion if anyone is interested. Unfortunately, I think Beth is
> right; there are probably only about 8 of us on this list and half of them
> are just just station lurkers or trolls, but I feel strongly about this
> subject
>
> I happen to like ATC. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, not a popular stance, but
> there you have it. I like the international coverage and some of the
> science stories I find really interesting and entertaining. Can ATC be
> lame? You bet it can. Sometimes I just have to cringe at the fluff stories
> and human interest filler, but I am willing to put up with the duds to get
> the occasional good story and their good stories can be very, very good.
>
> The argument against ATC is not so much how lame it can be, but how much
> it costs the station. I believe the bill is about 60k a year, but I could
> be wrong. Maybe someone can give an accurate figure. Anyway, the new slot
> at 6 pm with PRI's "The World" I think is quite good and it complements ATC
> perfectly by going into some of the international stories in a deeper way.
> The PRI show must be much, much cheaper and even might be free. I don't
> know. Anyway, I think it is really good. My only criticism of The World
> is that it is heavily weighted towards interviews and talking heads rather
> than on the ground stories.
>
> Two reasons for not getting rid of ATC to me would be: The international
> reportage, but perhaps more importantly, many of the donors to the station
> contribute because of ATC. Cut ATC and lose a lot of listeners as well as a
> lot of station revenue. I don't want to see ATC go, but can we afford to
> keep it and if we dumped it, would the loss in revenue from loyal donors
> negate the savings?
>
> Rick
> Little River
>
>
>
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